Jake White had a losing return to Canberra as the ACT Brumbies ground
out a 16-9 win over Super 15 leaders Sharks on Saturday.

The Brumbies scored the only try of a dour match in wet conditions with an over-emphasis on field kicking from both sides.

Lock
Sam Carter scored the sole try surging through a hole in the Sharks
defence off a short pass from scrum-half Nic White in the 63rd minute.

The
Durban team's chances were not helped by an off-night from their
Springbok goalkicker Frans Steyn, who missed three penalty attempts and
was astray with his general kicking.

White's return to Canberra
added spice to the top-of-the-table showdown, after the former World
Cup-winning Springbok coach quit the Brumbies halfway through a
four-year contract after steering the Canberra-based side to last year's
Super 15 final.

It was a triumph for former Wallaby flyhalf and
now coach Stephen Larkham, whose Brumbies side shaded the Sharks in a
physical forwards-dominated contest with both teams obsessed with
kicking for field position.

There was a total of 98 kicks in the stop-start match with very little ball in hand attacking movements.

"We
had our chances in the beginning to get the scoreboard rolling and
maybe create a bit of distance, but we missed those," White said.

"The game goes in momentum. When we had the momentum we lost it and when they got the momentum they took charge of it.

"I'm sure we'll play the Brumbies again this year so you'd rather win the next one."

While
Steyn was having problems, finishing with three penalties from six
attempts, Christian Lealiifano landed three penalties and a conversion
from seven shots to keep the home side ahead in the second half.

Two of Lealiifano's penalty attempts hit the upright, but in the end it didn't prove costly for the Brumbies.

The
Sharks took a losing bonus point out of the defeat to lead the
competition by one point on 36 points from defending champions Chiefs (35) and the Brumbies (34).

"It was a hugely rewarding
result, any time you get a win over the Sharks is good, especially in
the context that they have been leading the competition this year,"
Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen said.

"The boys had to dig deep in tough conditions but I thought we managed it well."

It
was the Brumbies' fifth straight win at home this season, while the
Sharks now head to New Zealand for two tough matches against the Crusaders and Auckland Blues.

The Brumbies are likely
to be without winger Joe Tomane for some weeks with a suspected
fractured eye socket after a collision with a teammate in a tackle in
the first half.

The Brumbies, who lead the Australian conference
by five points, now head off for a two-match tour to South Africa,
beginning with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein next weekend.

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